Train Them in the Way They Should Go

From the very start of her life, our daughter was loud. I mean crying-out-loud loud. When she was a baby, she cried because she was a very sick baby and later when she realized she had a brother that loved to annoy her, she was loud with her shrills and squeals when he as much as touched her.

"STACI!" I'd shout to out-shrill her. "Please stop screaming! And, I mean now!" Later my husband and I heard her belting out the song "Jesus loves me this I know" in the bathroom in perfect pitch. We knew we had a gift from God on our hands. We could see clearly that God was up to something and what the enemy had meant for evil with a Cystic Fibrosis diagnosis, God meant it for good. (Genesis 50:20) She was soon 100% healed.

We were young parents who realized God had given us a great responsibility to cultivate the gifts that were in our children. We were praying parents who sought the Lord earnestly concerning His plans for our their lives. In time, He revealed our children's natural abilities to us. Ryan was a natural born salesman -- winning all kinds of awards for top sales in Cub Scout Scout-A-Rama tickets and other school fundraisers. We were his accomplices when we drove him door to door to give his sales pitch and I was his bookkeeper. And with our daughter's ability to communicate in song and word was enabled by parents who continued to do whatever we could to open up doors of opportunity for her.

When Staci was very young, she’d sing little songs on stage at our church and her school. She was in school musicals and the choir. At 12, she started winning talent competitions, landed TV shows and commercials. Our son gravitated to real jobs in sales where he thrived. They are both in those areas of life today.

We were taking our cues from scripture. Proverbs 22:6 gives specific instructions on developing the God-given potential embedded in every child. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." I believe that verse is meant for their life and spiritual purposes.

In essence, parents are responsible for investing in their children the love, guidance and structure that can one day produce a life fully committed to the Lord in all they do. As we lead them "in the way they should go" -- according to their unique personalities and natural giftings -- they will live fulfilling lives.

We need to imitate Eunice, the mother of Timothy, the apostle Paul's prodigy. Her godly influence on Timothy created an ironclad commitment that would seal his faith in Christ. Eunice's devotion to that challenge carved a place for her in biblical history, and Paul remembered: "the genuine faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and that I am persuaded lives in you also" (2 Timothy 1:5). Like Eunice, parents can help their children fulfill their purpose in life by intentionally nurturing them. Here are some ways I encourage you to nurture yours:

~ Pray with your children daily.
~ Demonstrate unconditional love, regardless of their failures or successes.
~ Shun performance-based acceptance, and avoid forcing your unfulfilled dreams on them.
~ Spend quality time imparting character-building traits that will stand against the toughest temptation.
~ Talk with your kids about their day at school, their homework and their future goals or aspirations.
~ Find opportunities to hone your child’s natural abilities. I promise you – they have those – painter, writer, talker/speaker, leader, singer, musician, etc.

Parents who are vigilant in their pursuit to raise kids who love God and who will use their gifts to serve Him are trusting God for the outcome. So the next time your child has their stuffed animals lined up and she is teaching them or your child wants to create a meal in your kitchen (no matter how many pots and pans they have out and how messy your kitchen is), don't stop them -- encourage them. Applaud them. A loving and devoted teacher or a master chef may be in their future. Only God knows what's in the making. We get to plant the seeds and water them – God gives the increase!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Day 75 of Photo Inspirations -- Happy St. Patrick's Day
This was the Washington Post's headline for today.   "Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Here’s the chemistry that makes your beer taste good (or bad).  The flavors and aromas of beer all come down to chemistry.  St. Patrick's Day is here, and that means the world is about to consume a lot of beer: 13 million pints of Guinness alone are expected to be consumed."

Quite amusing, and it's a great day for celebrating, but I'm NOT thinking about beer OR science today when I think about St. Patrick's Day.  I know, like other religious holidays, this is another "watered....er' beered down" day where we get distracted from  the true meaning of this day, but I want to honor St. Patrick by sharing who this man was -- just in case you may not know. He was born around A.D. 389 in England. At the age of 16, he was kidnapped and sold as a slave in Ireland. Six years later he escaped and returned home to Britain, but became burdened for the spiritual condition of the Irish. He eventually returned to their land as a missionary for 40 years, where he established more than 200 churches and led more than 100,000 to faith in Christ.  It is told that he used the shamrock to talk about the Trinity.  His death on March 17, 461 is remembered each year as St. Patrick's Day.  WOW -- like Joseph, St. Patrick, was sold to slavery, and like Joseph, "what the enemy meant for evil, God turned for good". (Genesis 50:20)

Listen to how utterly consumed St. Patrick was with his relationship with God in his prayer:  
"I arise today through God's strength to pilot me, God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me, God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me, God's word to speak for me, God's hand to guard me.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise.
Christ in the heart of everyone one who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today through His mighty strength."

St. Patrick, his witness, his prayer, his passion and his example really is something to celebrate today.  The green I wear today, honors him, honors the God he served and HE is also MY Lord, and MY God!
#StPatricksDay #ChristInMe